Innovation leaders on how they do it: inspiring, empowering

It wasn't much of a risk, really. With a panel comprising Tim Bowdler, Tim Porter, Simon Waldman and Geert-Jan Bogaert and with Keith Sutton as ring-master, the discussion was always going to be provocative. That was indeed the case in the packed auditorium in Preston last night and also in the chat room online (see the excerpt below).

If you missed the discussion on "Leading Innovation: What to Do, How to Do It" - or want to run through it again - check out the recording.

Mark your calendar, too. The 5th Journalism Leaders Forum on February 6th, 2007, will be chaired by Mark Tungate, a Journalism Leaders Programme discussion leader and author of the first comprehensive look at the world's top media brands, Media Monolith. Watch for updates on the event here or mail us at leaders[at]ukjournalism[dot]org for an invitation.

Simon Waldman: At the moment, the most significant revenues onilne are actually derived from advertising...I think the real challenge over the next two to three years is to ensure that everyone is geared up to secure as much ad revenue as possible...
Mark: One of the reasons journalists are negitave to the changes is that they have seldom if ever consulted on how and why the changes should occur
Tim Porter: Correct. That's why more collaboration and cultural change is
needed.
Mark: directives from the top alienate the journalists who often see the changes as principally cost saving methods

Simon Waldman: Mark..you're right..
Simon Waldman: Let's not forget the Telegraph basically laid off a load of
journalists..
Tim Porter: Or ... newspapers tend to pile up priorities until there is a laundry list of goals, most unsupported by training.

Mark: too much money goes in to the technical infrastructur
which is constructed for and by technical staff. The point of departure must be
firsty "how can we tell our stories better"
Tim Porter:
There is a tremendous need for product development -- in a traditional sense --
in the newspaper industry.
Editor: The cultural battle is being won - the key to capitalising on the undoubted revenues out there is to keep traffic high thanks to the quality of journalism
Mark: product is produced by journalists. There is a tremendous need for *journalistic* development
Mark: Swedish statistics show that sanitary workers have more money for mid-career training than journalists

Tim Porter: “Merely riding the current of change, complaining all the while, is a path that leads only to cynicism and failure. It's seductively self-indulgent, but it's just plain wrong. The alternative is choosing to act.
That's leadership. And it's what these times demand.”-- David Zeeck, executive
editor, Tacoma News-Tribune, President, American Society of Newspaper
Editors,2006-07
Julia Ogden: In my opinion the desire to change and adapt to the future is in many of our newsrooms, but I would argue the investment is not - as yet. Is JP planning to roll out new media newsrooms like the one at LEP to other divisions and if so, when?
Mark: so where do the ethical standerds of journalism c0me into play?
Mark: xcuse the spelling :-)
Tim Porter: They remain. The challenge is to change the forms and practicies of journalism without undermining the principles.